


It's a Love Story (Baby Just Say Yes)

by nahco3



Category: Football RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-29
Updated: 2011-08-29
Packaged: 2017-10-23 05:42:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/246855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nahco3/pseuds/nahco3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leo's a dancer and Cris is in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a Love Story (Baby Just Say Yes)

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted to my lj.

Diego Maradona is standing before the audience, expansive in his tuxedo. He's been speaking for five minutes and shows no signs of stopping.

"I was very inspired by the trapezoid," he continues, "and the interplay between capitalism and socialism, and so..."

"I hope this guy is worth it," Sergio whispers, rather too loudly, fiddling with his program.

"Of course he is," Ricky says, loyally from Cristiano's other side. "I met him last week. He's a very good person, and we should support him."

"How have you met him and I haven't?" Sergio asks, getting a glare from an old lady behind them. "Criiiiis, I've wanted to meet him for monthes."

"I had to drop off a manuscript at his apartment," Ricky explains, "and Leo happened to be there."

Sergio pouts, Cristiano checks his watch, Ricky folds his hands neatly in his lap.

"...the dynamism of the human form and our ability to commune, unexpectedly and shockingly, with the divine!" Maradona wipes tears from his eyes, and much of the audience spontaneously applauds. Maradona basks.

"Jesus fucking christ," Sergio mutters.

Ricky raps Sergio in the knee. "They're one of the best modern dance companies in the world. Try not to be such a philistine."

"For the record," Sergio says to Cristiano, ignoring Ricky, "You owe me." Cristiano nods without really thinking, his foot bouncing up and down. And then, finally and blissfully, Maradona makes a low bow and steps offstage. The house lights dim to almost nothing and the curtain rises.

\--

Cristiano honestly doesn't know what's happening. There's a woman in a full skirt, jumping up and down from some sort of hollow box, and the rest of the company is sort of ...writhing, Cris guesses, in what could kind of be construed as a trapezoid. Then half the company freezes and falls to the ground, and the other half stick their hands in air in a sort of primal salute. Sergio snorts in a way that is clearly audible over the chanting that's apparently the background for the piece. Without looking away from the stage, Cristiano steps on his foot.

Suddenly, Leo appears from the wings, unmistakable from the way he moves. Cristiano thinks he would know the way he moves anywhere, from watching him stretch on the floor while they're watching football, from the way he speeds up to a half-run when he sees Cristiano coming from down the block, from watching him practice choreography in the living room. He reaches down, instinctively, checking in the dark that the ring box is still in his pocket.

Sergio nudges Cristiano with his elbow and says, "oh, that's him, isn't it!" An old woman next to them shushes him. Cristiano hardly notices. Leo does some sort of split-leap thing, then falls to the ground, gracefully rolling and then pushing himself upright. He reaches his leg up behind him and Sergio snickers, "oh, I get it now."

Ricky, good Christian that he is, reaches over to hit Sergio so Cristiano can concentrate on watching Leo.

\--

After the show, the three of them wait in the lobby - Cristiano for obvious reasons, Sergio because he insists on documenting what he calls "a beautiful lifetime event" and because he's dying to meet Leo, and Ricky because Cristiano thinks he's about to pass out/run home and throw the ring out since this was a stupid idea anyway and how could he even think Leo would really love him and he should just.

"Breathe," Ricky says, his hand warm on Cristiano's shoulder. "It'll be great."

Yeah, Ricky stays because Cristiano needs someone to keep him sane, and it certainly won't be Sergio. Finally, Maradona appears, leading the company after him. Everyone bursts into more applause, and Maradona preens. Leo's just behind him, but he darts forward when he sees Cristiano, stopping to sign a few programs first with a shy smile.

"You came!" he beams, giving Cristiano a quick hug. Cristiano manages to get both arms around him before he can stop himself, and pulls him a little tighter, just because he can. Leo smiles up at him and nestles himself into the curve of Cristiano's arm, his own arm around Cris's waist. "Oh, and you brought Ricky and ..."

"Sergio," Sergio supplies, shaking Leo's hand vigorously. "You were great, so flexible!"

"Ignore him," Cristiano says, "sorry," blushing a little, because there are some things you can think when you're watching your boyfriend dance, but that no one else should ever be able to say aloud.

"No, it's. I'm glad you liked it," Leo says. "It's good to meet more of Cris's friends. Sometimes I think he's hiding me from you guys," he says, all at once.

Cristiano is about to say he doesn't know what when Maradona comes over.

"Leo! Oh." he pauses and gives Cristiano, Sergio and Kaka a distainful up and down glance. "Feliciano. And it looks like you have brought your friends. I hope you enjoyed Leo's comp tickets," he says, at long last. "Leo, please come with me, I badly want you to meet Mr. Chavez, one of our most generous benefactors."

"Um, one second, please," Leo says, in that tone he has where it's hard to tell if he's asking or demanding. Cristiano doesn't know because he's never tested it; he does not make a habit of saying no to Leo.

Maradona, apparently, does.

"Lionel," Maradona says, "if you want to start doing more choreography, I suggest you get to know Mr. Chavez better. Starting now."

It's a surprisingly elegant threat, really, Cristiano would be impressed if he weren't so angry. Leo gives a soft sigh.

"I'll meet you at home," he tells Cristiano, giving him a regretful smile. "And it was nice meeting you, Sergio, and seeing you again, Ricky." He stands up on his tiptoes and gives Cristiano a quick kiss, and then he's gone; disappeared into the see of rich, old people.

"Fuck," Cristiano says, quietly. "Fuck."

"It's not. Maybe we should wait?" Ricky says.

Cristiano shakes his head. "They're probably already gone to some fucking restaurant." Which would be nicer than anything he could afford, where people would tell Leo how great he was and offer him things he'd always wanted, when all Cristiano has are student loans and a job that keeps him busy 60 hours a week. "Leo told me about this guy. It'll be insane."

"I'll get a cab with you," Sergio says, since he's a surprisingly decent guy, "since Ricky's heading the other way."

"If you're sure..." Ricky begins. "Cris -"

"I'm sure," Cristiano says. "I'll see you on Monday, ok?"

"Ok," Ricky says, with a smile, off to his wife and kids, "call me if you need anything."

Sergio and Cristiano watch him walk away. "Annoyingly perfect?" Sergio says, and Cristiano laughs just a little. Sergio throws an arm over Cris's shoulder and leads him from the theater.

\--

Cristiano waits up for Leo. Sergio actually stays for a while, drinking Leo's beer and finding a horrible movie on TV to watch, but at around one, when the movie ends, he stands up to leave.

"See you Monday, yeah?" he says. Cristiano nods, and Sergio looks like he's about to say something more, but stops himself. He comes over and gives Cristiano a stupidly large hug. "I'm already plotting revenge," he says, when he's at the door. "Don't worry. Trapezoid dude will regret the day he was born." He grins, and then he's gone.

Cris turns the TV off and recycles the beer can. Leo only keeps beer around, and only a six pack or so at a time. When they moved in together, Cris had told him about, well, everything. Leo being Leo he'd just looked at Cris with sad eyes and said, "I wish I had been there," and "tell me if I can do anything, please." So they don't have cold medicine, mouthwash, anything really but a fucking half-drunk six pack of Bud Light. Cris is still tempted. He thinks about getting his wallet and heading down to the corner store, getting a fifth of something. He grabs a pen and a manuscript from the pile in the kitchen instead and heads back to the couch.

Leo gets in almost an hour and a half later. Cris hears his key in the lock, and puts his work down.

Leo drops his bag on the ground. He looks tired, and Cris feels guilty.

"I didn't think you'd still be up," Leo says, coming over to the couch and settling himself next to Cris.

"Of course I am," Cris says. "I never got to tell you." Leo leans into him and yawns and Cris says, "that you were great. It was a great show."

"Your friends liked it?"

"Ricky did. I don't think Sergio really understood what was happening."

Leo gives a snort of laughter. "Him and me both," Leo says, amused and a little annoyed.

"How was the guy?"

"Chavez?" Leo gives an expressive shrug. "I would rather have been here, but you know, work."

"Yeah." Leo kisses him and tastes like champagne and Cristiano just wants to go to bed next to Leo and know he'll be able to wake up next to him.

\--

Leo has a matinee on Sunday, and he comes home grinning, eyes bright, residual adrenaline from performing. Cristiano is sitting at the kitchen table working at his laptop, in a pair of sweatpants and a worn Man Utd t-shirt, effectively distracting himself with work. That is, until Leo sits down on Cris's lap and sticks his tongue in Cris's mouth.

Cristiano manages to maneuver them to bed, no thanks to Leo, who wraps his legs around Cristiano's waist, his arms around Cristiano's neck and seems oblivious to everything but kissing Cristiano very enthusiastically.

After they have sex, Leo passes out until dinner. Cristiano shakes him awake when dinner's done, and he smiles sleepily up at Cristiano and brushes up at Cris's hair, messing it up even more.

"Dinner," Cris tells him. "Get your sleepy ass up."

Leo sits up, grabs a pair of Cris's pants from the floor, and one of his own shirts and pads into the kitchen after Cris.

"I'll set the table," Leo says.

"You better, you little freeloader," Cristiano tells him, kissing the top of his head when he passes by to get the plates. "I slaved over a hot stove for you, you know."

Leo laughs, and Cris turns back to the stove to drain the pasta. He's just adding the sauce when Leo sits down at the table.

"Still no food?" Leo asks. "The service here is terrible, I don't know why I keep coming."

"Maybe the waiters are cute," Cristiano suggests, pouting.

Leo gives a little smirk and taps his fingers theatrically on the table top. "They're alright, I guess. There's one, though, who makes the stupidest facial expressions."

Cris puts the food on the table and sits down. "See if I cook for you ever again," he says, but Leo's face has suddenly stilled.

"What?" Cristiano asks. "Leo, is everything ok?"

Leo is pulling his hand out of the pocket of his - of Cris's pants. Holding a little box.

"Cris. Is this. Cris?" And Cris is so scared he can't move, can't even run out of the room like he wants to, so badly.

Cristiano nods, stupidly, and Leo opens the box. There's a thick, plain white gold band inside with a pinprick of a diamond inset in it. It is unmistakably an engagement ring.

"Cris," Leo says. He looks down at the ring, still in the box, then up at Cristiano, who's still sitting there, absolutely still. He thinks he might throw up, actually.

"Cris, please say something," Leo says.

Cristiano doesn't know what to do. He was going to get down on one knee, do this properly, the way Leo deserves. Of course this is how it would happen, over dinner in their tiny kitchen, with Leo in a threadbare t-shirt, and Cris with bags under his eyes.

"I. Leo. Will you marry me?"

Leo just looks at him for a second and Cristiano thinks he might have a heart attack. "Yes," Leo says. "Yes, Cris, of course I will," and he's putting on the ring and then Cristiano is around the table and Leo's in his arms.

"You were going to do that after the show, weren't you?" Leo says. "I'm sorry I messed it up."

"You," Cristiano says, "you could not mess anything up if you tried. You. You are perfect."

Leo laughs, and maybe he's tearing up a little but that's ok, since Cris might be too, just a little.

Leo buries his head in Cris's chest. "I need to ask you something," he says, his voice muffled but Cris can feel it, right above his heart.

"Anything," Cris says.

"Will you marry me?" Leo asks.

"I just asked that," Cris points out.

"You asked me. I still need to know."

"Ok, fine, yes. Yes I will."

"Good. Because. I. I kind of love you a lot." Leo looks up when he says that and Cristiano kisses him.


End file.
